The Price For Freedom
by PurpleLight
Summary: A short oneshot. Dumbledore approaches Lily with a request. Will she accept? What are the risks if she does? How will James react? Post Hogwarts.


**A/N: Hey! It's been a long time, but I thought I'd write a oneshot that could perhaps turn into a multi-chaptered fic, depending on whether you guys like it! Let me know what you think! Cheers!**

* * *

**The Price For Freedom Chapter 1 - Necessity**

"Dumbledore asked me to Hogwarts today." Eighteen year old Lily Potter said softly as a weary James sat heavily unto the couch after a hard days work.

"Oh?" James replied, with a stretch of his arms, "How come?"

Lily, sitting down beside her husband of six months, turned her body toward James; swinging her legs over his as they sat on their couch. "He needed to ask something of me," she said, her eyes never leaving James' face.

James looked at her, "And that was?"

"Something important."

James laughed, leaning back, closing his eyes from fatigue. "Are you being ambiguous on purpose?"

Lily smiled softly. "Not on purpose, no. He..." Lily hesitated, biting her lower lip. She wanted to tell James, but she did not want to make him angry.

James sensed her hesitation, and opened his eyes to look at her. "What did he want?" His curiosity spiked.

The red head sighed, looking at her spouse carefully, ready to gauge his reaction. "He asked me to join the order," she finally said.

The silence was deafening. After a time, James slowly leaned forward and picked up Lily's legs and gently placed them to the ground, moving them off of him. He leaned his body forward, placing his elbow to his thigh, and one hand to his face, closing his eyes.

"Why?" He finally said; his body still facing away from his wife.

Lily put her hand on his back. "He said that he needed a healer they could trust in the order. Someone that they could rely on for emergencies, to be there instead of always going to Mungo's. I assume that because you are in the order, Dumbledore trusts me as well."

James was taking deep breaths, trying to keep himself calm, "What did you tell him?"

Lily, with her hand still on James' back, began to make small circles with her hand, "I said that I'd speak to you first before I gave him an answer."

James straightened up, and turned back toward Lily. "No," he said defiantly. "It's too dangerous. Absolutely not. No."

"James..." Lily sighed his name, in an almost pleading manner.

James shook his head, "No," he said flatly. "I... How..." James stopped, and took a deep breath. "How does he expect me to do my job properly, if I'm constantly worried about your safety?"

Lily paused, looking at her husband calmly, "James..." Lily said again, this time taking his hand in her own. "Perhaps, it will be better this way," she said, looking at him carefully.

"How could that possibly be better? With you home, I know that you are safe so I can concentrate on getting home safely; but with you out there... I won't be one hundred percent on task, how could I be? What if something happened to you. I'd never forgive myself for letting you be there, not when you can be safe." James said, his voice breaking.

Lily could see that this was paining him. "I can be with you when you go out for the order. I can always be with you. We can do this together. I know that _I _would prefer that to staying here, wondering if you're going to come back."

James looked at her, and pulled her close to him. "You're the reason I come back," he said softly, putting his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes once more.

"Lily... It's madness out there. I just can't let you join." James pulled away from Lily, his anger flaring, becoming stronger with every passing second. "You're a healer for Merlin's sake! You have little or no fighting training. It would be mad to let you go out there. I can't believe Dumbledore would even consider it!" James stood and began to pace, back and forward in front of the couch.

Lily stood as well, reaching forward, to put her hand to his face. "Sweetheart, I know it's dangerous. Not a second goes by that I don't worry about you, and Sirius and Remus and Peter. I know I don't know how to fight like you and the others, but surely I can learn. Please don't just dismiss this idea. It's scary, I know, but it's not an unreasonable request from Dumbledore." She looked into his face, looking for a look of acceptance; she didn't find one. This would take some persuading from her part.

James shrugged away from Lily and walked towards the fireplace, his hands outstretched to hold the mantel, as if to stabilise himself. "Not unreasonable?" He whispered, in an almost rhetorical manner, though he knew that Lily could and would hear him. Much louder he asked, "You think asking to put yourself on the front line, to put yourself in danger with no training, for the sheer benefit of helping others, is not unreasonable? It's a death wish, Lily!"

Lily's calm exterior was beginning to falter. She marched up to him, and spun him around by the shoulder, "And you think that what you do for the order, isn't!" She accused, just as angry as him. "Why do you think I became a healer in the first place, if not to help others? I cannot sit here anymore, safe in my home and watch as everyone I love goes out to fight for peace. I cannot anymore and I won't!"

Lily was breathing heavily now, her anger equally matching James' rage. She turned her back on her husband and walked over the couch once more, sitting herself down with her head in her hands.

"Dumbledore wouldn't have asked, if he didn't think that he needed my help. I can do this, James. I can help; I can do something for the order. I want to."

James, still standing over by the fireplace, stared at his wife in defeat. "But I don't want you to." He said softly, slowly walking over to her. "Is that selfish?" He asked his wife, sitting down beside her.

Lily smiled up at her husband and leaned against him. "No," she admitted. "I don't want you out there either; but it guess it's the price we have to pay for freedom. Risk the lives of the few, to save the many. So, no, I don't think you're selfish, I think you're human." James put his arm around her shoulders as she said this.

"When did this all get so hard? We're eighteen, for God's sake and we're already fighting in a war that is too out of control as it is. When did we get here?" James spoke into Lily's hair as he held her close.

"War makes people grow up in a hurry. We were sheltered in Hogwarts; we knew this time would come," Lily paused before saying, "I want to be there with you James; on the front line, with you every step of the way."

James placed his fingers gently under her chin, causing her to look up at him. "There is nothing I can say to change your mind about this, is there?"

Lily lifted herself up and placed her lips gently against his for the briefest of seconds before resting her head upon his chest once more. "No," she said against him. "We do this together, or not at all and I know the latter is not an option for you, so I guess you're stuck with me."

James smiled against her hair. "Forever and always."

* * *

**There you go! Short and sweet! I do hope you liked it. I love post hogwarts fics, and there just isn't enough of them! Send a review my way and let me know if I should continue... I may just! Much Love, PurpleLight~**


End file.
